Last edited by ebug9 (2009-03-07 19:33:18)
If I had the chance to go back in time and rethink what I should buy for college, I would probably say, spend a few hundred on a nice, little netbook and with the rest of the money, buy parts for a nice desktop.ebug9 wrote:
I'm just wondering what I should be looking for in terms of a notebook for school this coming September. Are netbooks worth getting or would a more powerful dual core laptop be a better choice?
It has to be easily transportable and no more than $1200
Any ideas?
Talk to your course adviser and see what they recommend. You might even get a student discount on a laptop or he'll know a guy, or you'll buy one cheaply from the uni, etc. They are there to help you for this sort of thing.ebug9 wrote:
I'm taking a Computer Systems Technician course with an added year for Networking.
I'm lost as to which brand I should be looking at as well
I've already got a fairly good desktop which I plan on upgrading over the next year or two. I need something portable for note taking but still able to listen to music, browse the web and watch movies on.Smithereener wrote:
If I had the chance to go back in time and rethink what I should buy for college, I would probably say, spend a few hundred on a nice, little netbook and with the rest of the money, buy parts for a nice desktop.ebug9 wrote:
I'm just wondering what I should be looking for in terms of a notebook for school this coming September. Are netbooks worth getting or would a more powerful dual core laptop be a better choice?
It has to be easily transportable and no more than $1200
Any ideas?
If you're set on buying an actual notebook though, look into Dell, HP, Lenovo, or Asus. They all sell notebooks with nice features for a fair price, though customer service may be lacking with the former two companies (heard good things about HP's business lineup and customer service though).
It seems here (at U of T) ASUS laptops are pretty popular, I have one and a lot of other people here do as well. Mine is pretty powerful and cost like $900 (I cba to find the exact model right now) so finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Also, if you're programming you'll likely be using Unix based code so you might want to look up how to use linux since it becomes really useful later on.ebug9 wrote:
I'm just wondering what I should be looking for in terms of a notebook for school this coming September. Are netbooks worth getting or would a more powerful dual core laptop be a better choice?
It has to be easily transportable and no more than $1200
Any ideas?
I'll most likely be bringing it to class since the course is based around computers. It'll be nice having my own computer with programs that I'm familiar with, rather than having to use Internet explorer and God forbid Open Office instead of MS Office if they've become that cheap.Winston_Churchill wrote:
It seems here (at U of T) ASUS laptops are pretty popular, I have one and a lot of other people here do as well. Mine is pretty powerful and cost like $900 (I cba to find the exact model right now) so finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Also, if you're programming you'll likely be using Unix based code so you might want to look up how to use linux since it becomes really useful later on.
Also, are you certain you will bring your laptop to class? Because lots of people (including me) planned on bringing it to class and stopped pretty quickly, its just way more efficient to use paper and pen.
Lastly, what uni are you going to?
Last edited by ebug9 (2009-03-07 20:11:04)
i selected CA on newegg...ebug9 wrote:
I'll most likely be bringing it to class since the course is based around computers. It'll be nice having my own computer with programs that I'm familiar with, rather than having to use Internet explorer and God forbid Open Office instead of MS Office if they've become that cheap.Winston_Churchill wrote:
It seems here (at U of T) ASUS laptops are pretty popular, I have one and a lot of other people here do as well. Mine is pretty powerful and cost like $900 (I cba to find the exact model right now) so finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Also, if you're programming you'll likely be using Unix based code so you might want to look up how to use linux since it becomes really useful later on.
Also, are you certain you will bring your laptop to class? Because lots of people (including me) planned on bringing it to class and stopped pretty quickly, its just way more efficient to use paper and pen.
Lastly, what uni are you going to?
I'm going to Algonquin College in Ottawa.
@LBJ I should've mentioned Canadian dollars to clarify that our tax rate is shit and so is our dollar. 13% sales tax which makes that laptop >$1400
Last edited by Little BaBy JESUS (2009-03-07 20:19:48)
Haha, no I was meaning bring it actually to class. I've found its actually way better to just have a desktop at home/residence than carry around a laptop. And I'm in engineering and have a few programming/computer courses and still, very few people use laptops in class. Plus, universities (at least mine does...) use firefox and microsoft word...ebug9 wrote:
I'll most likely be bringing it to class since the course is based around computers. It'll be nice having my own computer with programs that I'm familiar with, rather than having to use Internet explorer and God forbid Open Office instead of MS Office if they've become that cheap.Winston_Churchill wrote:
It seems here (at U of T) ASUS laptops are pretty popular, I have one and a lot of other people here do as well. Mine is pretty powerful and cost like $900 (I cba to find the exact model right now) so finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Also, if you're programming you'll likely be using Unix based code so you might want to look up how to use linux since it becomes really useful later on.
Also, are you certain you will bring your laptop to class? Because lots of people (including me) planned on bringing it to class and stopped pretty quickly, its just way more efficient to use paper and pen.
Lastly, what uni are you going to?
I'm going to Algonquin College in Ottawa.
@LBJ I should've mentioned Canadian dollars to clarify that our tax rate is shit and so is our dollar. 13% sales tax which makes that laptop >$1400
Last edited by Winston_Churchill (2009-03-07 20:34:01)
Last edited by Wallpaper (2009-03-07 20:47:21)
Thats the one I was going to link to it would be ok for gaming 2Winston_Churchill wrote:
Haha, no I was meaning bring it actually to class. I've found its actually way better to just have a desktop at home/residence than carry around a laptop. And I'm in engineering and have a few programming/computer courses and still, very few people use laptops in class. Plus, universities (at least mine does...) use firefox and microsoft word...ebug9 wrote:
I'll most likely be bringing it to class since the course is based around computers. It'll be nice having my own computer with programs that I'm familiar with, rather than having to use Internet explorer and God forbid Open Office instead of MS Office if they've become that cheap.Winston_Churchill wrote:
It seems here (at U of T) ASUS laptops are pretty popular, I have one and a lot of other people here do as well. Mine is pretty powerful and cost like $900 (I cba to find the exact model right now) so finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Also, if you're programming you'll likely be using Unix based code so you might want to look up how to use linux since it becomes really useful later on.
Also, are you certain you will bring your laptop to class? Because lots of people (including me) planned on bringing it to class and stopped pretty quickly, its just way more efficient to use paper and pen.
Lastly, what uni are you going to?
I'm going to Algonquin College in Ottawa.
@LBJ I should've mentioned Canadian dollars to clarify that our tax rate is shit and so is our dollar. 13% sales tax which makes that laptop >$1400
Edit: This is the laptop I have, its really nice and reliable as well as pretty fast and powerful. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as … 6834220337
Really? Warranties usually don't cover physical damage like that. If it does that's a good warranty.FFLink13 wrote:
I'd say a netbook.
I have an Acer Aspire One, and I love it. I take it to college for the days I just wanna take notes fast and go on MSN, browse the Internet in lessons etc.
Really small, I literally just put in my usual bag and don't notice the difference and it also has great battery life. I can get 2 hours out of mine with networking on and a slightly dimmed screen (full brightness burns my eyes, anyway ).
Best £300 I spent.
Of course, someone broke my fucking screen, but the warranty will get that sorted
...Bertster7 wrote:
Really? Warranties usually don't cover physical damage like that. If it does that's a good warranty.FFLink13 wrote:
I'd say a netbook.
I have an Acer Aspire One, and I love it. I take it to college for the days I just wanna take notes fast and go on MSN, browse the Internet in lessons etc.
Really small, I literally just put in my usual bag and don't notice the difference and it also has great battery life. I can get 2 hours out of mine with networking on and a slightly dimmed screen (full brightness burns my eyes, anyway ).
Best £300 I spent.
Of course, someone broke my fucking screen, but the warranty will get that sorted
I do a lot of work with warranty repairs. Smashed screens are pretty much never covered under warranty (and are typically a more expensive repair than is worth doing on lower end machines). You might be able to get it done on insurance.FFLink13 wrote:
...Bertster7 wrote:
Really? Warranties usually don't cover physical damage like that. If it does that's a good warranty.FFLink13 wrote:
I'd say a netbook.
I have an Acer Aspire One, and I love it. I take it to college for the days I just wanna take notes fast and go on MSN, browse the Internet in lessons etc.
Really small, I literally just put in my usual bag and don't notice the difference and it also has great battery life. I can get 2 hours out of mine with networking on and a slightly dimmed screen (full brightness burns my eyes, anyway ).
Best £300 I spent.
Of course, someone broke my fucking screen, but the warranty will get that sorted
Don't fucking scare me It better cover it.
Asus have a one year any damage repair afaik. dunno about AcerBertster7 wrote:
I do a lot of work with warranty repairs. Smashed screens are pretty much never covered under warranty (and are typically a more expensive repair than is worth doing on lower end machines). You might be able to get it done on insurance.FFLink13 wrote:
...Bertster7 wrote:
Really? Warranties usually don't cover physical damage like that. If it does that's a good warranty.
Don't fucking scare me It better cover it.
I think with Acer you need an accidental damage upgrade (maybe not). Even with that, there's a 100 Euro surcharge on smashed screens.Little BaBy JESUS wrote:
Asus have a one year any damage repair afaik. dunno about AcerBertster7 wrote:
I do a lot of work with warranty repairs. Smashed screens are pretty much never covered under warranty (and are typically a more expensive repair than is worth doing on lower end machines). You might be able to get it done on insurance.FFLink13 wrote:
...
Don't fucking scare me It better cover it.